1888 Antonio de Torres "La Itálica" (SE 116) SP/CSAR

This 1888 Antonio de Torres "La Itálica", SE 116, is a spruce and CSA rosewood classical guitar from Almería – a near twin of Francisco Tárrega's favorite, SE 114, baptized "La Itálica" by Domingo Prat and Emilio Pujol.

In the videos above, Andrew York plays five of his own compositions – "Yamour", "Squares Suspended", "Knowing", "Quicksilver" and "Mechanism" – on this guitar.

SE 116: A Sister to Tárrega's SE 114

Built the same year as Tárrega's favorite Torres guitar (SE 114) and almost identical in detailing and dimensions, this guitar – No. 116 of the "Segunda Época", as its label reads – is one of the great masterpieces of guitar making history. It is in phenomenal condition with all original elements preserved, including the original polish, tuning machines and internal pencil marks.

Enrique Coll and the Story of "La Itálica"

Accompanying the instrument are some very interesting documents dated 1951 from the Barcelona luthier Enrique Coll (1894–1978), who was a disciple of Francisco Simplicio and mentor to Ignacio Fleta. Among these is an appraisal in which Coll describes a metal plate bearing the name "La Itálica" which is fastened onto the headstock. According to Coll, this instrument received special attention from Miguel Llobet, Domingo Prat and Emilio Pujol. The story goes on to say that Prat and Pujol "baptized" the guitar and gave it the name "La Itálica", while Llobet preferred to call it "La Leona di Farré" – in honor both of the legendary "La Leona" Torres of 1856 and of the owner of "La Itálica" at the time, León Farré, one of the grand guitar aficionados of the Barcelona scene in the early part of the 20th century. Whatever the meaning of all this, we are left only to wonder.

Sound

Words cannot quite capture how rich and harmonious this guitar sounds, how perfectly balanced the notes are as they blend together, or the sensation of the guitar vibrating against the player's body. It is a tremendous experience, possible only with an instrument such as this in one's hands – and one confirmed over and over again with every Torres we see, above all with something as profound as SE 116.

Heard on "Valseana" by Marc Teicholz

"La Itálica" closes Valseana, GSI's CD with Marc Teicholz: Brahms' Waltz, Op. 39, No. 15 (track 18) is the last of 18 waltzes, each played on a different guitar from GSI.

Valseana – Marc Teicholz

More on Antonio de Torres

Torres' life is told in our short biography, and José Luis Romanillos's book "Antonio de Torres" explains his sound in this excerpt. Pepe Romero shares his own experience of these guitars in an interview with Kenny Hill. Also see Orfeo Magazine #9 – The 200th Anniversary of Antonio de Torres.

Antonio de Torres: The Stradivari of the Guitar

The name of Antonio de Torres (1817–1892) is to guitarists what the name of Antonio Stradivari is to violinists. Taken as a whole, the corpus of instruments made by this legendary maker's hand is today regarded as the foundational basis of the modern guitar. The impact that these guitars made on successive generations of luthiers is impossible to exaggerate – still to this day, most or nearly all of Torres' structural and tonal improvements are in use by all top contemporary builders.

The First and Second Epochs: Seville and Almería

Torres built his first great guitars in Seville, from the 1850s to about 1870 – his "first epoch", when his labels read "Calle de la Cerrajería, número 32". After some years away from the bench he took up guitar making again in his native Almería in 1875, and from then until his death in 1892 his labels say "Segunda Época", usually with the guitar's number written in by hand. In his biography of the maker, José Luis Romanillos catalogued the surviving instruments by these two periods, which is why Torres guitars are known today by numbers such as "FE 17" (first epoch) or "SE 114" (second epoch).

Played by Tárrega – and by Today's Artists

In Torres' own day, the leading players such as Julián Arcas and Francisco Tárrega were already performing on his masterpieces, and successive generations of players over the 20th century continued to play them. Although increasing values over the past several decades have placed them largely within the sphere of collectors, they are still highly desirable to leading professional players and occasionally make their way into the recording studio or even the concert stage. Pepe Romero, Stefano Grondona, Wulfin Lieske and Marc Teicholz, among others, have brought them to life in recorded and live sound, and we all hope this trend continues in the future, especially as more Torres instruments come to the public's attention.